A Rare Premiere - Double Piano Concerto

Double Piano Concerto Premiere - Glasgow 15 March 2008

Piano Duo, Philip Moore and Simon Crawford-Phillips will perform the world premiere of a new concerto for two pianos and orchestra on March 15th with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBCSSO) conducted by Martyn Brabbins at Glasgow City Halls. The new work, simply titled Double Concerto has been commissioned from German composer Detlev Glanert by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust (the Piano Duo was awarded a BBT fellowship in 2004) and the BBC SSO.

Simon Crawford-Philips and Philip Moore formed the Piano Duo in 1995, as a result of meeting at the Royal Academy where they were both pupils of Hamish Milne and have won several awards and prizes as a duo as well as individually. Hamburg-born Detlev Glanert studied with Henze and has been composing since the age of 12. British audiences would best remember his highly acclaimed Proms debut in 2005 when the BBC Symphony Orchestra premiered his Theatrum Bestiarum.

The Double Concerto's inspiration was found on Mars: the composer was fascinated by the Pathfinder images of the planet and the physical features that had been given names from European mythology. Rather than the Martian landscape itself, it was the concept of man interpreting absolutely unknown landscapes with well known names that intrigued him. The concerto's nine movements are therefore named after Martian landscape features, from Nirgal Vallis to Elysium Mons.

Glanert explores the idea of double-play on a number of levels. "The solo keyboard parts could not be heroic in the Romantic sense" he notes "a double hero is no hero. While the orchestra is often a reflection, the piano parts view the same things through two pairs of eyes."

Philip Moore comments: "The concerto looks wonderful - evocative, masterful, idiomatic writing for pianos and orchestra, as we knew it would be from listening to Detlev's other pieces. It really is thrilling to be part of the whole creative process."

The nine movements of the Double Concerto are titled:
Nirgal Vallis, Orcus Patera, Medua Fossae, Noctis Labyrinthus, Gigas Sulci,Tithonium Chasma, Ceraunius Tholus, Aureum Chaos

Detlev Glanert www.boosey.com
Detlev Glanert studied with Henze in Cologne He is acclaimed particularly for his operas and orchestral works which demonstrate lyrical gifts and a fascination with the Romantic past viewed from a modern perspective . He admires Mahler for his expressive encompassing of the entire world, and Ravel for his glittering artificial surfaces. Glanert won the prestigious Rolf Liebermann Opera Prize in 1993 for The Mirror of the Great Emperor, staged at Mannheim in 1995 and Mönchengladbach in 1997, and the Bavarian Theatre Prize in 2001 for Jest, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning, with numerous stage productions his most successful opera so far. Orchestral output includes three symphonies and concertos for piano and violin. His works are conducted by, among others, Markus Stenz, Oliver Knussen, Kent Nagano and Jun Märkl.

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